


Eyeliner 101

by UniqueSmallTreasures



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Fluff, M/M, lowkey Klance if you squint, shidgeweek2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-19
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-08-15 21:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8073454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UniqueSmallTreasures/pseuds/UniqueSmallTreasures
Summary: Pidge is still struggling to get the feminine parts of her personality right. She has Allura for compassion, she has Lance for tips, but when it truly counts, her go-to-person is Shiro. Her little crush on him sometimes gets in the way though.   Or:Shiro teaches Pidge how to apply eyeliner. Written for Day 1 for shidgeweek2016: Future.





	

It wasn’t a conscious decision at first. She just never bothered to cut her hair again, never tried to mimic Matt’s hairdo again. It wasn’t until Lance tried to braid her hair that she realized it had got longer. Long enough to go past her shoulder blades, to make her remember the feeling of a skirt against her thighs instead of shorts. She was boyish, she would never feel different. But sometimes she felt an urge, like an itch she desperately wanted to scratch. To be a little bit more feminine. 

Pidge wasn’t a fan of dresses and skirts though. Allura had presented her with few of her clothes after Pidge’s small grow spurt. She was few centimeters taller now, but she still could have been mistaken for a child instead of a young woman. It bothered her only when Lance made fun of her height, but it wasn’t something a small punch to his side wouldn’t take care of. Still she didn’t feel comfortable in Altean’s clothes and during their last trip to Earth, she only picked shirts, tops, trousers and shorts for her wardrobe. 

Skirts weren’t practical for a Paladin. Running in heels wasn’t practical. If you weren’t an Altean Princess, being a part of Voltron as a girl with cramps and migraines was hard. But Pidge never let that stop her from being the best. It was almost as easy as breathing for her, to help other Paladins. To pull Keith out of reckless suicide mission _again_ , while he was bleeding out, even if he was twice her size. To stop Hunk from getting engaged to some alien, because not knowing customs and being too trusting toward others almost always lead them into trouble. To tweak up the electronics in Shiro’s arm, when it started malfunctioning and bringing him more pain. To be the one in front of a shot to save Lance’s ass, because the idiot was too worried about what Keith was doing and didn’t watch his own back. 

But some other things she decided to get from her home planet made Hunk and Lance eye her in surprise. She couldn’t blame them. She could blame her mother though, too happy to see her family reunited for a short time. Her mother smothered her with affection and compliments of her growth, but Pidge could also read between the lines and see her worry. So she humored her and let her mother pack one of her bags, not expecting it to be filled with fancy lace underwear and make up products, which would make Lance whine in jealousy. He did gasp when he saw the contents of that particular bag and Hunk worried aloud why she chose those items. Pidge just shrugged in answer, without revealing it wasn’t her pick. But when the boys attention shifted, she picked a small pouch hidden in one of her shorts pockets and put it in the bag her mother prepared. In some ways, she supposed great minds thought alike. 

So on the rare days or nights, she wanted to feel more feminine, without giving up her boyish side. She would put on her lingerie, cover herself with a t-shirt and shorts. Sometimes she shaved or painted her nails, sometimes she didn’t care to do so for a long time, until Lance begged her to let him give her a makeover. She always declined and made fun of his grumpiness over her appearance. 

One of those nights she wanted to take another step. Literally. It was the middle of the resting period, meaning everyone on the ship would be asleep, save for two of three of them. She was one of those people and yet, she hesitated before leaving her room, before she reasoned with herself that it was normal for her to be up and that she shouldn’t feel nervous about her request.

The sound of her footsteps resonated through the corridor. It seemed too loud for Pidge’s ears and she gritted her teeth, but didn’t stop her tracks. She was a girl on a mission and she never backed down before, so why should she stop now? It hadn’t meant she wouldn’t be rambling to herself though. 

“It’s not a big deal, you just have to ask him and he won’t laugh at you, he’s not that kind of guy. You’ve tried talking to Allura, she was no help, Lance wouldn’t be helpful at all, so he’s the only one left. Don’t freak out now, you talk to him on a daily basis, you know he won’t judge you,” she panted, suddenly out of breath. She inhaled deeply, before stopping in front of the door heading to Shiro’s room. 

The part of her brain that suggested that the reason for her nervousness wasn’t the fact she was seeking Shiro to help her out with something embarrassing, but the fact she had a tiny crush on him, was shushed down with her loud exhale of air. 

Slowly, her hand rose, but she still hesitated, her green eyes darting to the side. It took only a moment for her resolve to come back. Her knuckles connected with the surface of the door, gently knocking. The sound again sounded too loud to her ears, so she wrinkled her nose, the gesture making her glasses ride up. 

It’s not that she needed glasses. She just felt safer with them, when out of her suit. She grew to feel like they were part of her and she loved to adjust them with her fingers, the gesture comforting her. 

She retracted her hand and waited for Shiro to appear on the other side of the door. She could hear him moving around and reasoned he was still out of his suit, because his footsteps didn’t seem as heavy and loud as she expected. She was proved right when the door opened and a familiar face greeted her. 

“Pidge?”

Okay, so she wasn’t that used to seeing him blinking sleepily as he considered her with confusion written all over his face. It was a bit hard to concentrate and focus on his face though, because of the bare chest he was sporting, because _of course_ he had to sleep shirtless. 

“I woke you up?” she winced, when she realized that she was staring at his arm, where the metal was attached to his skin. He rarely allowed others to see it and she felt like she was invading his privacy. She quickly shifted her eyes and they landed on Shiro’s nipples and a nearby scar, making her snap her whole head up so she would stare right at his face. 

Shiro was oblivious of her inner impure thoughts, as he was trying to wipe away his sleep, his fingers gently moving against his eyelids. He hummed quietly, taking a step to the side, in a silent welcome. Pidge squared her shoulders and went into the room, the door quietly shutting behind her, as Shiro repressed a yawn, with his hand against his mouth. 

“Sorry, you’re right, I should have been up by now,” he muttered, letting his hand fall, his back to Pidge. He looked around the room and spotted his dark shirt. His metal hand reached for it, as he made few steps further into the room. Pidge had few more seconds to admire how the muscles of his back shifted, before the skin had been covered with the fabric. She repressed a sigh, which dared to escape her lips, by biting down on her lower lip. 

She was eighteen and Shiro might have been almost a decade older than her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t look at him and admire how handsome he was. She was a grown up girl and she had to put up with the rest of the boys being silly with their hormones for almost 4 years now, if she wanted to stare at a sexy back, she figured out, she was allowed to. 

“Um yeah,” she finally said, just before Shiro turned to her, “I just couldn’t sleep, was changing the wiring of Blue as Lance asked and hoped you’d be up by now.”

Shiro smiled warmly at her, gesturing to his bed, his _unmade_ bed, “Sit down. What do you need?”

Pidge could list a lot of things she needed, half of them were Shiro-related, but she slapped herself mentally, berating herself for her thoughts and followed Shiro. She sat with her legs crossed and put her elbows against knees. She felt a small pouch shift in a pocket of her shorts, it’s weight settling next to her thigh, making her self-conscious. She was looking at her lap when she spoke. 

“You are the only one who can help me. I mean, I talked to Allura, but she has no idea about Earth customs, I mean, seriously, our culture is so unique and now that I think about it, I rarely had seen any aliens, even the humanoid ones to be similar to us in this manner, so-”

Shiro’s laughter made her pause and Pidge lifted her head, leaning in to look better at his face. Her hair went from behind her shoulders to the front of her chest with the gesture. And for a moment she just stared as Shiro tried to muffle his laugh behind his hand, his metal arm around his stomach. 

“You’re rambling,” he supplied, amusement evident in his voice. “Hadn’t seen you so worked up over something since you found the stack of Lance’s condoms in Keith's room.” 

Pidge groaned, “Don’t remind me,” she shuddered, partially trying to get back on track, “But seriously, I need your help.”

Shiro’s lips thinned out, as he considered her. He straightened and shifted in his seat, mirroring her position on the bed, so he was fully facing her. He had to know it wasn’t anything life-threatening, but he still was taking her seriously. It made Pidge’s chest constrict painfully with affection for the man before her. 

“How can I help?” he asked softly, when Pidge was too lost in her thoughts to say anything. They were sitting so close, their knees almost touched and he still leaned in, so he could read the expression on her face. 

She had to be always on guard when near Shiro. He was rarely oblivious and could pick up the smallest clues of someone’s discomfort. She tried to give him the most reassuring smile she could manage. 

“I need you to teach me something.”

Shiro blinked, as he straightened. He looked surprised by Pidge admission and looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue and elaborate. 

She wet her lips, her eyes leaving Shiro’s, so she could look at her own hands, clasped in front of her. Her fingers twitched, before she forced herself to relax. After all the pep talk she had given herself before coming, she should have been prepared. Still, she was embarrassed and had to swallow few more times, to gather her courage. 

When she finally lifted her eyes, locking them with Shiro’s, she reminded herself that she had a crush on him for a reason, he was a great guy and he wouldn’t make fun of her. So she took a deep breath and finally blurted out: “Teach me how to apply eyeliner, please!”

Shiro’s eyes blinked rapidly and Pidge felt her cheeks getting hotter under his stare. 

“I mean, I know you have a permanent eyeliner applied,” she babbled on, giving Shiro a moment to restart his brain, “Like, it’s pigmented and visible even in water and after all those years, it needs a bit of a re-touch,” she gestured to his face, hoping to emphasize what she was talking about, before continuing: “But I know from Keith that you had to apply it by yourself before and I just really want to see how I would look like with one of those cat-eyes-thingies that I used to see on Earth.”

She was out of breath by the end of the sentence and she felt the need for air as she gulped loudly. Shiro thankfully stopped blinking at her and instead titled his head and listened to her with a small smile playing on his lips. He waited for Pidge to breath in and out few times, before his smile widened. 

“Sure.”

The answer took Pidge by surprise still and she straightened, her eyebrows narrowing before she could control her face. 

“Just like that?” she asked dubiously, before her brain caught up with her and she flushed, “I mean, um, thank you? But are you really okay with that?” she fished the pouch from her pocket and turned her attention to it. “I have all the stuff needed, I think, but if you’re not comfortable or-”

“Pidge,” Shiro interrupted her gently, his human hand tapping her ankle gently, before his fingers grabbed the pouch and lifted it from her hand. “I can only hope to still have a steady hand and actually be some help for you.”

She gawked at him for a moment, as he rummaged through the pouch, picking an eyeliner pen and humming happily. She closed her mouth and watched him as he tried to draw a line on his human hand. He then put the pen away and rummaged through the pouch again, evidently happy.

Over the years, Shiro hadn’t changed much, but he had relaxed. He wasn’t as paranoid as back when they’ve only rescued him and he wasn’t as afraid to lash out at them. Apparently Coran and Allura had caught on to the fact that almost each of the Paladins had their own set of traumas and insecurities and did their best with some sort of a therapy that none of the Paladins had been aware of. Lance was homesick. Hunk had an eating disorder. Keith had abandonment issues. She was too hung up on finding her family. And Shiro had a classical PTSD. They weren’t cured, but they were better. Hunk stopped going to food for comfort and now usually talked out his worries. Lance and Pidge took comfort in the fact they sometimes visited their families and that Earth was still safe thanks to their fight. Keith had a new family now, each one of them ready to sacrifice themselves for him and Lance was literally glued to his side. And Shiro was still having nightmares and doubts, but thanks to anxiety management he was calmer and more positive. Not only on the surface, but also he started to rest more and have more fun, sometimes even only indulging himself. 

“Okay, I think we need a mirror,” Shiro’s voice brought Pidge’s attention back to him. He was already standing up from the bed and she followed him, as he moved to the bathroom part of his room. 

“This might be awkward, sorry,” he apologized before vaguely gesturing to the front of himself. Pidge glanced at the mirror, happy her cheeks weren’t red as she moved to stand in front of Shiro. She put her glasses away, first holding them in her grasp, before Shiro motioned to the counter in front of the mirror and the free space between his stuff and the sink. She put her glasses there and rested her hands on the counter, letting the cold seep into her fingers, grounding her. She was taller now, but still the top of her head didn’t reach Shiro’s chin. He had to lean down over her shoulder, so his head would be on almost the same level.

“This is a liquid eyeliner,” Shiro explained as he presented the product in front of Pidge, his arms circling her shoulders, but not touching, “I figured it will be easier for you to use and for me to show you.”

“Okay,” she breathed out, watching as he unscrewed the top and the pulled out the thin brush. 

He put the bottle on the counter and continued: “Make sure there is no excess liquid, just the right amount,” he murmured right into her ear and Pidge had to fight her shoulders not to stiffen. She nodded and hummed instead, forcing herself to relax and if Shiro would ask her, she would feigned nervousness from doing the make-up thingie for the first time. 

“Remember to always have your eyes open,” this time is arms pressed against Pidge’s shoulders. It made her look up to his face as he gestured to his own eyes, showing her a half-lidded look. “It will help if you can actually see what you’re doing.”

She hummed and tried to mimic his expression, getting a nod of approval. Somehow it made her feel proud and she smiled at their reflections. 

“Now, I always start from my inner corner, but I know it’s sometimes easier to start from the middle of the eye,” he handed Pidge the brush and showed her the points of the eye he was talking about with his metal forefinger. “Remember to just apply a bit of pressure of the tip to your eyelid and draw a small, thin line to the outer corner of your eye.” 

“Okay. Baby steps, right?”

He smiled at her and his human hand squeezed her shoulder. “Baby steps,” he agreed. 

She took a deep breath and sighed out before getting to the task. Her hand wasn’t trembling and she was focused on what Shiro had told her. The brush felt familiar to her, reminding her of nail polish brushes, even though she would never get one close to her face. Slowly, she put the tip of the brush to her skin and drew a nearly perfect short line, from her inner corner to the outer corer of her eye. When she withdrew her hand, she realized she stopped breathing and drew in a breath hungrily. Shiro chuckled behind her, his hand squeezing her shoulder once more.

“Well done,” he praised her fondly and she thanked him under her breath, blinking her eye, surprised that she managed to keep it from moving before. “Now, everyone has different eyes, so my tricks won’t apply to you really, but that’s not a bad thing. It will be easier for you to paint the line, than it was for me,” he once again gestured to the outer corer of her eye, his metal fingers brushing against her cheek. She hadn’t reacted only because she was expecting the contact, but she dig her free fingers more into the cold counter, hoping Shiro wouldn’t notice. 

“Sometimes this is the only thing you need,” he continued without noticing Pidge’s inner turmoil. “But I think you talked about getting the winged eyeliner.” His breath ghosted next to Pidge’s ear and she felt it on the tip of her ear which wasn’t covered by her hair, making her blush. “Rest your hand against your cheek, so your pinky will touch it.” He waited for Pidge to comply with his sift order and nodded. “Good. Now, you will have bigger control of your strokes. To make the wing you should follow your lower eye-line as if you would want to connect it with the line of your eyebrow here,” he gestured to the outer part of Pidge’s eyebrow, gently tapping it.

“But I don’t want to make such a big line,” she protested, scrunching up her nose.

“No, it’s just so you can visualize it better,” he amended and tapped her cheek to get her attention to his face. Shiro followed the line of his eyeliner from the outer corner of his line up to his brow, making Pidge hum in understanding. 

“Oh, okay, that makes more sense,” she smiled sheepishly and Shiro returned her smile with a gentler one himself. 

“Okay, now, small, short strokes. And try to keep them straight, without curving.”

Once again Pidge brought the brush to her eye and tried to follow Shiro’s instructions. 

“Good, you’re doing great, just like that...” he murmured encouragingly and the traitorous part of Pidge’s brain recorded those words, supplying her with an idea of when he could be using them, in a very different situation. It made her hand more twitchy though and the line she made looked too thick compared to the rest. 

“And I’ve ruined it, Great-”

“No, you still got this. Wait. Let me have it.” He took the brush from her hand and positioned his metal hand against her cheek, the cold helping her feel the flush more than see it on her reflected face. “This is where you connect the lines and add a bit of thickness to make the win stand out more.”

He gently stroked her lid and miraculously, a few seconds later she had a winged eyeliner adoring her eye. Shiro withdrew his hand and straightened, as Pidge leaned closer to the mirror and examined her new look. 

“It looks good.”

“You look good,” Shiro argued and once again his human hand squeezed her shoulder before his arms went around her to retrieve the bottle. He dipped the brush in it and then handed it back to Pidge. “Now’s the tricky part,” he grinned as she took the bottle, “Do the same with your other eye.”

She laughed at that, snorting slightly as she accepted the bottle. She repeated his instructions in a quiet voice, barely audible, though judging from the widening of Shiro’s smile, he must have heard every word. 

“Get rid of excess stuff… Yeah and now start from the middle or inner part in small strokes… Keep your hand on your cheek so it won’t twitch, keep your eyes half-lidded… Okay, here comes nothing...”

“Don’t be so tense,” Shiro murmured and Pidge tensed even more, making him narrow his eyes. “Seriously Pidge, relax, it’ll help. Remember, just keep making small lines and you’ll be fine.”

Slowly, she applied the brush to her eye and drew a short line. She lifted the brush and blinked, before diving in again. She moved slower now, but also more precise. She only had the wing to do now so her eyes quickly glanced at Shiro, which proved to me a mistake. 

He was watching her, but not her face. His eyes were focused on her shoulder and neck line, making her realize that the strap of her lavender bra was showing. Her shirt must have ride to the side from all the squeezing. Shiro looked relaxed but also as if he was curious, which made her shift on her feet. Immediately his gaze followed her legs and she looked away before he could notice her staring. It didn’t help that she was now looking at her blushed face, with the brush handing awkwardly in front of her face. 

Slowly, she brought the tip of the brush back to her eye, trying to calm herself by talking. 

“Baby steps, one stroke at a time, just like connecting the dots, just with small straight lines… Easy, you’ve got this.”

“You do,” came Shiro’s reply and she almost squeaked, as she wasn’t expecting an answer to her quiet ramblings. She tried to make the lines as thick as on her other line and mostly succeeded, even if this eye looked a little bit more awkward. 

“And you finished,” Shiro announced, startling her and making her shift her gaze from her reflection to his. He was still wearing a small smile, as if he was very content with his life right now. “I knew you could do it. You will get better with practice, but you know the basics now and you will be able to do it alone, whenever you’d like to.”

Somehow the world _alone_ hit Pidge and she nodded tensely. “Right. You’re right. Of course you’re right.” She quickly screwed up the bottle before turning to face Shiro, hoping her smile will look happy enough. “Thank-”

“You need a mascara,” Shoro said over her, making her blink in surprise. He had his head titled, his hands crossed over his chest as he was considering her. “I was thinking that you need something more to make your eyes stand out just a little bit more. A black mascara would be great. Do you have one?”

Pidge thought back to the bag her mother prepared for her and nodded. Shiro brightened. 

“You will look even cuter then, trust me.”

Pidge’s blush resurfaced even stronger, making her cheeks burn. She couldn’t say anything to that and Shiro remained oblivious as to why she felt so embarrassed. He was still smiling at her warmly as he escorted her back to his bedroom so she could collect her things before leaving. 

The stupid smile made Pidge feel not only warmer but also more confident – or maybe it was the eyeliner? Either way, she started pep-talking herself mentally, as she gathered her stuff and her pouch, putting everything back in her pocket. When she turned to leave, Shiro still followed her to open the door. 

She knew she had few seconds at most and she drew in her courage. She was a Paladin, she never backed down from a challenge and Shiro was the best challenge she could ask for. 

“I’m glad I could help,” he told her, his hand once more reaching her shoulder, one of his fingers between the fabric of her t-shirt and the showing strap of her bra. 

“Thank you,” she smiled earnestly and turned to face him, letting his hand fall down from her shoulder to his side. He was looking at her curiously and there was a question on the tip of his tongue, she could see it. But before Shiro could actually voice it out loud, she stood up on the tips of her toes and planted a small chaste kiss to the underside of his jaw. That was the highest she could reach without jumping. 

She withdrew quickly, took in his flushed and surprised look, winked and turned around. Her steps were almost quiet in comparison to Shiro’s spluttering behind her back and she grinned to herself, enjoying the wild beat of her heart. She could always claim it wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing and that she was just expressing her thanks. God knows she sometimes kissed Hunk on his cheek when he was being his awesome self. But she left Shiro with more questions surely and wondered how he would react to her tomorrow, if she applied the mascara. 

She was right in front of her door, when she heard the footsteps behind her and with a squeak, she turned, to see Shiro just walking up to her, as if he slowed down at the last moment, trying not to appear too intimidating. Without another word he leaned down, making her short of breath and she felt her glasses being slipped over until they rested at the bridge of her nose. 

“Glasses, you forgot them,” he murmured before planting a small kiss on the top of Pidge's head. “Good night.” He pivoted on spot and marched away. 

She watched him go back to his room, with a small smile playing on her face. She already couldn't wait for breakfast.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little bit of fun for the shidgeweek2016~ Be gentle with me, I hadn't wrote anything in years.


End file.
